Dispensing machine for wipe material with the reel in a frontal position

ABSTRACT

The dispensing machine for wipe material with the reel in a frontal position of the type comprising a housing ( 2 ), a cover ( 3 ), a drum ( 4 ), a cutting device ( 5 - 6 ) built into the drum, means of starting and returning the drum including a cam and start spring is distinctive in that it comprises a device to prevent loops in the material paid out from the reel (B) of material, said device comprising a reel holder ( 16 ) capable of engaging and positioning itself on a fixed support ( 17 ) physically joined to the rear wall of the bottom of the housing, said reel holder being rotatably mounted on support ( 17 ) in opposition to an elastic return means and in that the reel holder is devised to position itself on a long bearing surface ( 17   b ) of support ( 17 ), being locked into position relative to the latter and in that the reel holder co-operates with the spindle of the reel of wipe material in order to drive it.

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of machines fordispensing wipes made of paper, cellulose wadding, crepe paper orsimilar materials intended, in particular, for wiping users' hands, thedispensing of toilet paper and paper towels. The paper may be in foldedor unfolded form.

[0002] The Applicant has developed numerous patents for dispensers ofthe above-mentioned type, both automatic and semi-automatic, fordispensing strips of paper from a load reel.

[0003] The reels of wipe material can be presented in two ways:

[0004] Either the reel is mounted on a spindle that is physically joinedto the housing of the machine so that it exposes the lateral face anddiameter of said frontally mounted reel, making it possible to view thewound turns and the amount that has been dispensed.

[0005] Or the reel is mounted between two reel-holder end flangesarranged at right angles to the rear wall of the housing making itpossible to present the reel lengthways.

[0006] This invention refers more specifically to the dispensing ofcoiled wipe materials in the above-mentioned first version.

[0007] The main components of such a machine, as described in FrenchPatent 2.332.215 which is applicable to the various above-mentionedversions are briefly summarised below. A machine for dispensing materialwipes, referred to in its entirety as (1), comprises a housing (2), acover (3), a drum (4), a cutting device (5-6) built into the drum aswell as means of starting and returning the drum including a cam (7) anda spring (8). The upper part of the housing is designed with means ofsupport (9) capable of accommodating the reel of wipes (B) to bedispensed.

[0008] A machine of this type is generally used to dispense toilet paperor paper towels or paper hand wipes.

[0009] The tensile force exerted by the user on the strip of paper isliable to vary considerably and may be a greater or lesser force, not tomention the direction of the tensile force which can be an additionalparameter that affects the operation of the dispensing machine. Exertingsuch a variable force may produce loops between the reel of wipematerial and the drum over a length of strip that can be severalcentimetres or even several dozen centimetres long.

[0010] In order to overcome this drawback, the Applicant developedanti-loop devices, particularly in Patent FR No. 2.643.808. Theseanti-loop devices use swivelling-lever assemblies that are mountedrelative to the reel holder and capable of having a swivelling effect inorder to reduce or compensate the forming of loops and tension the stripof material. Such assemblies operate very satisfactorily but are likelyto obstruct the loading of the machine since they face and are in thefrontal plane of the reel of material.

[0011] The Applicant has developed, in its patent application FR98.06702, an anti-loop device which is particularly applicable todispensing machines that have lateral end shields to accommodate a reelholder and are therefore equivalent to the second version as statedearlier. The device described in this patent involves devising the reelholder end shields with an end fitting which allows the reel to bemounted with an elastic return means once it has been subjected to atensile force.

[0012] The arrangements described in this patent application arestrictly applicable to a presentation of the reel of wipes in a positionwhere it faces the opening in the cover of the machine.

[0013] The object sought after according to the invention was to designthe dispensing machine for applications involving presentation of reelsof wipes in the frontal plane of the machine in order to ensure ananti-loop effect.

[0014] Another object sought after by the invention was to ensure thereel was locked in position on its support spindle.

[0015] These objects and others will become apparent from the rest ofthe description.

[0016] According to a first characteristic, the dispensing machine forwipe material with the reel in a frontal position of the type comprisinga housing, cover, drum, cutting device built into the drum, means ofstarting and returning the drum including a cam and a start spring isdistinctive in that it comprises a device to prevent loops in thematerial paid out from the reel of material, said device beingdistinctive in that it comprises a reel holder capable of engaging andpositioning itself on a fixed support forming a hub that is physicallyjoined to the rear wall of the bottom of the housing, said reel holderbeing rotatably mounted on the support in opposition to an elasticreturn means and in that said reel holder is designed to position itselfon a long bearing surface of the support, being locked into positionrelative to the latter and in that the reel holder co-operates with thespindle of the reel of wipe material in order to drive it.

[0017] The invention is explained below in greater detail, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 is a front view of a machine for dispensing wipe materialaccording to the invention, with the cover having been swivelled;

[0019]FIG. 2 is a side view of the dispensing machine according to FIG.1 with the cover having been swivelled;

[0020]FIG. 3 is an enlarged, exploded view before the component parts ofthe device according to the invention have been fitted;

[0021]FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view of the device according to theinvention after installing the reel on its spindle;

[0022]FIG. 5 is a front sectional view along line 5-5 in FIG. 4.

[0023] In order that the invention may be more readily understood, it isdescribed in a non-exhaustive manner, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings.

[0024] The dispensing machine for wipe material is referred to in itsentirety as (1). This machine is designed to allow the dispensing of areel of wipe material (B) which is frontally presented relative to thebottom wall (2 a) of the machine's housing so as to expose one of itslateral ends when cover (3) is swivelled and opened.

[0025] The lower part of the cover is hinged to the housing by means ofa swivel pin (10) and, when it is closed, it is locked in position onthe top of the housing with the aid of means (11) which is familiar tothose skilled in the art. The reel of wipe material is positioned in theupper part of the machine at an appropriate height depending on itsinitial diameter. The lower part of the machine has a mechanism forcutting the strip of material paid out from the reel. This mechanismmay, for example, be of the type described in the Applicant's previouspatent No. FR 2.332.215. This mechanism comprises a drum (4) rotatablymounted relative to lateral support end shields (12) and a shaft (13)arranged in the lower part of the machine's housing. The cutting device(5-6) is built into the drum and means of starting and returning (7-8)the drum, with a cam and a spring, are suitably arranged as disclosed inthe above-mentioned French patent. A pressure roller (14) that can belocated so that it presses against the top of the drum, thus allowingthe end of the strip of paper originating from the reel to be insertedbetween the drum and the pressure roller with a view to subsequentlydispensing it. An operating knob (15) is fitted at the end of the drum'sshaft.

[0026] The characteristics of the invention are described below:

[0027] The reel of material is mounted on a reel holder referred to inits entirety as (16) which is itself capable of engaging on a support(17) forming a hub that is physically joined to the bottom rear wall (2a) of the housing. This support (17) has a shaped, circular end shield(17 a), for example, which is capable of engaging and locking onto acylindrical shoulder (2 b) on the bottom surface of the housing. Thiscylindrical shoulder is located so that it protrudes towards the frontof the wall of the housing and makes it possible to fix the end shield(17 a) by means of screws (18) or equivalent means. The support (17)has, in the plane that is perpendicular to its end shield (17 a) andtowards the front, a long bearing surface (17 b) having a cylindricalconfiguration which makes it possible to centre and position reel holder(16). More particularly, this bearing surface (17 b) has a support area(17 b 1) capable of accommodating a part forming a bush (16 a) of reelholder (16). End (17 c) of this bearing surface (17 b) is tapered and,its end has a retractable, swivelling locking pin (19), the function ofwhich is to hold, in particular, reel holder (16) in position as isdescribed below. To achieve this, end (17 c) of bearing surface (17 b)of support (17) has, in a non-exhaustive configuration, slits (17 d)between which locking pin (19) is formed, the latter being flexible andelastic and therefore capable of movement when a pressure force (F) isexerted. Pin (19) is therefore in the form of a support tab (19 a) witha protruding shape (19 b) acting as a limit stop.

[0028] Reel holder (16) comprises a long external bearing surface (16 b)capable of engaging in spindle (20) of the reel of wipe material (B).Said bearing surface (16 b) extends on one side as a collar (16 c)constituting a limit stop surface for the reel of wipe material (B). Theinternal part of reel holder (16) is designed with a bush (16 e) havinga length greater than that of bearing surface (17 b) with, at its end, aring-shaped constriction (16 d). Reel holder (16) thus makes it possibleto centre and position reel (B) which rests against cylindrical bearingsurface (16 b). Reel holder (16) has, internally, between its externalcylindrical bearing surface (16 b) and internal bush (16 a), an internalchamber (16 e) making it possible to engage and fix a flat spiral spring(21). One end (21 a) of the latter is hook shaped so that it engages ina slit (16 f) forming a recess on the peripheral wall of said bearingsurface (16 b). The other end (21 b) of spring (21) is also hook shapedand attaches to a protruding pin (22) on end shield (17 a) of support(17). Reel holder (16) is thus rotatably mounted on above-mentionedfixed support (17). When the reel of wipe material (B) rotates due tothe effect of the tensile force exerted on the end of the strip ofmaterial by the user, this rotates the reel holder because it is tightlypressed against spindle (20) of said reel. This rotation of the reelholder takes place in opposition to the spring which is subjected to amaximum twisting force over one revolution in order to correct andeliminate, as is indicated below, the formation of any loops after thestrip of paper is pulled. Choosing a spiral spring makes it possible tocorrect and eliminate loops having a length of up to roughly 75centimetres, i.e. equivalent to the circumference of a reel having adiameter of the order of 25 centimetres. In practice, correction of theloop length is closely linked to the circumference of the reel.

[0029] In order to ensure the reel of material (B) has a good grip onreel holder (16) the external periphery of the bearing surface (16 b) ofthe reel holder is designed with one or more means (24) that ensure apressure and drive effect with reel spindle (20). This or these frictionmeans (24) may be achieved through a multitude of projections that arean integral part of reel holder (16) when it is moulded. Alternativelyand preferably, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the friction means (24)consists of a transverse tongue (24 a) on the cylindrical bearingsurface (16 b) of reel holder (16). This tongue is made between twoslits (24 b) made on one part of the width of bearing surface (16 b)making said tongue capable of a certain amount of elastic deflection inorder to ensure it comes into contact with spindle (20) of reel (B).

[0030] Also, in order to ensure limited rotation over one revolution ofreel holder (16) relative to the fixed support, the latter is devisedwith a protruding stub (25) located adjacent and parallel to cylindricalbearing surface (17 b) of the support. The reel holder (16) has, towardsthe lower part forming a bush, a protruding bump (16 h) forming a limitstop on stub (25), thus limiting rotation of the reel holder on support(17).

[0031] Also, an additional end fitting (26) is located towards the frontof the reel holder and is capable of engaging in spindle (20) of thereel of wipe material through its front. This end fitting (26) is ofone-piece construction and has an internal taper shape (26 a) thatextends internally as a cylindrical bearing surface (26 b) capable ofresting against the forward part of bush (16 a) of reel holder (16) andagainst the locking pin (19) associated with the support (17) of thereel holder.

[0032] The operation of the machine will now be described. A reel (B) ofwipe material is installed by introducing its spindle part (20) ontoreel holder (16) in a position such that locking pin (19) on support(17) of reel holder (16) locks said reel into position. The reel istherefore secured between collars (16 c) (26 c) formed, on the one hand,on the reel holder and, on the other hand, on end fitting (26). When themachine operates, the user exerts a tensile force on the strip ofmaterial which passes through the cutting mechanism described earlier.Rotation of the reel causes rotation of the reel holder, thus tensioningspring (21). This rotation of the reel holder causes stretching of thespring. The above-mentioned limit-stop makes it possible to limit thetensioning of the spring over one revolution. If the tensile forcecontinues to be exerted on the strip of material, the spindle slips onthe reel holder and thus slips on the tongue.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1, the strip of material may, after pulling andcutting, contain a loop (dashed line). When this tensile force is nolonger exerted, this allows the reel holder, under the effect of theresiliency and elastic return of the spring, to rotate in the oppositedirection to said reel holder, thus automatically eliminating the loop.

[0034]FIG. 1 additionally shows a support means (27) for a spare reel ofmaterial.

[0035] The advantages are clearly apparent from the description. Thesimple, quick installation of the reel of material and its locking inposition are emphasised in particular. The constant tensioning of thestrip of paper thanks to the return force obtained after each pull isalso underlined. The reel holder is advantageously made of a singlepiece of plastic. The same applies to the support of said reel holder.The components can be assembled quickly. Alternatively, fixed support(17) can be directly moulded onto the bottom wall (2 a) of the housingso that, in this embodiment, there is only one separately mountedplastic part, namely the reel holder. Above-mentioned spring (21) mustalso be added.

1. Dispensing machine for material wipes with the reel in a frontalposition of the type comprising a housing (2), a cover (3), a drum (4),a cutting device (5-6) built into the drum, means of starting andreturning the drum including a cam and a start spring characterised inthat it comprises a device to prevent loops in the material paid outfrom reel of material (B), said device comprising a reel holder (16)capable of engaging and positioning itself on a fixed support (17)physically joined to the rear wall of the housing, said reel holderbeing rotatably mounted on support (17) in opposition to an elasticreturn means and in that the reel holder is designed to position itselfon a long bearing surface (17 b) of support (17), being locked intoposition relative to the latter and in that the reel holder co-operateswith the spindle of the reel of wipe material in order to drive it. 2.Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that support(17) has an end shield (17 a) physically joined to the bottom surface ofthe housing and has, in a forward perpendicular plane, a long bearingsurface (17 b) making it possible to centre and position reel holder(16) on the one hand and lock the reel of material and the reel holderin position on the other hand after inserting the latter into the reelholder.
 3. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2 characterised inthat the bearing surface (17 b) of fixed support (17) has a support area(17 b 1) making it possible to centre and position the reel holder andin that end (17 c) of said bearing surface (17 b) is tapered and its endhas a retractable, swivelling locking pin (19) which locks the reelholder and reel into position.
 4. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim3 characterised in that end (17 c) of bearing surface (17 b) of support(17) has slits (17 d) between which locking pin (19) is formed, thelatter being flexible and therefore capable of movement when a pressureforce (F) is exerted, said pin having a support tab (19 a) and aprotruding shape (19 b) acting as a limit stop.
 5. Dispensing machine asclaimed in any of claims 1 to 4 , characterised in that reel holder (16)comprises an external bearing surface (16 b) capable of engaging inspindle (20) of the reel of wipe material, and the internal part of saidreel holder is designed with a long bush (16 a) resting against bearingsurface (16 b) of support (17) and has, at its end, a ring-shapedconstriction (16 d) in order to rest and lock against locking means(19).
 6. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 5 characterised in thatreel holder (16) has, internally between its external cylindricalbearing surface (16 b) and internal bush (16 a), an internal chamber (16c) making it possible to engage and fix elastic return means (21) in theform of a spring, one end (21 a) of which is physically attached to thereel holder and the other end (21 b) of which is physically attached tofixed support (17).
 7. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 6characterised in that one end (21 a) of return means (21) forming aspring is hook shaped so that it engages in slit (16 f) forming a recesson the peripheral wall of cylindrical bearing surface (16 b) and in thatthe other end (21 b) of the return means is hook shaped and attaches toa protruding pin (22) on end shield (17 a) of support (17). 8.Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 6 characterised in that reelholder (16) has, on the external periphery of its bearing surface (16b), one or more means (24) that ensure a pressure and drive effect withthe spindle (20) of the reel.
 9. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim8 characterised in that the friction means (24) consists/consist of atransverse tongue (24 a) on the cylindrical bearing surface (16 b) ofthe reel holder and is/are defined between the slits (24 b), thus makingthe tongue elastic.
 10. Dispensing machine according to any of claims 1to 9 characterised in that support (17) has a protruding stub (25) thatco-operates with a bump (16 h) on the reel holder and ensures limitedrotation of said reel holder.
 11. Dispensing machine as claimed in anyof claims 1 to 10 characterised in that an end fitting (26) is capableof engaging in the spindle of the reel of wipe material through itsfront, said one-piece end fitting comprising an internal taper shape (26a) that extends as a cylindrical bearing surface (26 b) capable ofresting against the forward part of bush (16 a) of the reel holder andagainst the locking pin (19) associated with support (17) of the reelholder.
 12. Dispensing machine as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4characterised in that support (17) forming a hub is of one-piececonstruction and integral with the bottom wall (2 a) of the housing.